Acoustic frequency detection and wave-based systems are known in manufacturing and oil industries for imaging and non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of materials. Such systems may involve the propagation of energy through solids, liquids, and gases as waves; typically, a pulse of energy is applied to an object to be imaged and reflected waves of the pulse are detected and processed for imaging. The spatial relationship and amplitude of the reflected waves provide imaged information as to the location and nature of structures that reflected the acoustic energy in the object being analyzed.
NDE of objects for detection of contraband and/or explosives is known according to some specific approaches. Such NDE approaches may include acoustic frequency detection or vision-based systems such as infrared, Millimeter Wave (MMW), multispectral, hyperspectral, infrared, X-ray, or imaging radar output. However, such systems have significant limitations. For example, these systems rely on data to reconstruct the object or elements in a visual format so a human or software can attempt to identify the objects. They also have limited penetration capabilities.
Likewise, other systems, such as MMW and imaging radar systems are similarly limited in penetration of certain materials and is also based on imagery. Separately, infrared sensing systems can be impractical due to very small temperature contrasts that may exist between hidden contraband and outer layers of covering material of a given container Although X-ray and magnetic portal detector systems have proven much more effective at detecting both metallic and non-metallic concealed weapons than some of the above systems, such “portal” detection technologies are inherently limited by the X-ray replies on images. Magnetic portals rely on magnetic energy to disturb the object in an attempt to try and identify it, and at any rate, do not necessarily identify the object at a molecular level nor does any of the NDE techniques cited in these examples.
In each of the above cases, do not detect disparate categories of contraband, whether narcotics, smuggled gems, illicit quantities of cash on a molecular level, various chemical categories of explosives, or biological agents. Accordingly, known approaches are limited in terms of protective applications utilizing images, and none of the examples can operate in a mobile field environment without images.